


The First Five Times

by kitlee625, Sarahastro



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-14
Updated: 2013-11-14
Packaged: 2018-01-01 14:07:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1044851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kitlee625/pseuds/kitlee625, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sarahastro/pseuds/Sarahastro
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Coulson and May rekindle their relationship on the bus.</p><p>This ties together our prequel story <i>Merry Happy</i> with our series <i>Life in the Field</i>. Written after 1x07 - it will probably be jossed soon.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The First Five Times

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place shortly before all of the stories in our series _Life in the Field_.
> 
> The title and format are inspired by the song “The First Five Times” by Stars.

1.

One day she does break out the mats. Just like the old days, it does not take long before she has him slammed against them.

He groans, then raises his right arm. She grasps it and pulls him upright. “Again?”

He nods, and she lunges at him. He was able to block a few of her hits, but when he tries to attack, she easily blocks all of his before knocking him to the floor again. She smiles and arches one eyebrow. “Again?”

He knows that he should say no, he should accept that the old days are long behind him, but instead he nods, wincing a little as May smiles and lunges towards him. He blocks her, and she pulls back and looks at him with one arched eyebrow. “Ready to give up yet?”

He shakes his head, readying himself for her next attack. She gives him a little half-smile, and he finds himself smiling in return. It is good to see her happy, even if it is because she is kicking his ass.

“Are you ready to give up?” he asks.

In response, she lunges forward and attacks. He only blocks one hit before she lands a hard blow to his stomach. It only stuns him for a second, but that is more than enough time for her to pin him back down to the mats.

“Do you want to give up now?” she asks.

The sense of having been here before is overwhelming. He remembers lying on his back pinned underneath her back in the little surveillance cabin in Estonia during their first mission together. His heart is pounding in his ears as she stares down at him with one of her little flirty smiles.

He is not sure what drives him - desire, arousal, irritation - but he leans up and kisses her. For a moment, he feels her mouth warm against his. But a second later, she pulls away.

“We shouldn’t,” she says. “Not while we’re stationed on the bus together.”

He smiles apologetically. “I know. You’re right.”

She stands up and fixes him with one of her inscrutable stares.

He sits up and says, “I’m sorry, May. I shouldn’t have done that.”

She does not answer, just turns and walks out of the cargo area.

  
2.

After their last mission, Skye declares that they should all have drinks to celebrate. They have some juice and beer in the fridge and a whole lot of alcohol in the bar. Skye mixes together a little bit of everything to make what she calls “Skye Punch” which tastes like Hawaiian punch but seems to have a pretty high alcohol content because after a few glasses even Ward is looking dazed. Fitz-Simmons have gotten very giggly and are laughing with Skye over Simmons’ impression of Sitwell when she shot him.

Coulson has limited himself to a single glass, but even he is feeling the effects. He glances at May who looks as unflappable as ever. The only sign that she has been drinking is the slight flush in her cheeks.

“I think Skye’s punch is a little too strong,” he observes.

May looks unimpressed.

“Your face is flushed, you know,” he points out.

She glares at him. He thinks it is cute that she gets flushed when she drinks, but he knows that it embarrasses her. “I feel fine,” she says.

“You’re very red.”

She walks from the bar into the galley where she examines her reflection in the microwave. She rubs her face as if trying to make the flushing go away. Coulson follows her.

“It’s fine. Really, it’s not that noticeable.”

“I’m not drunk.”

“Of course not.”

She glares at him again. “I think you’re the one who’s drunk.”

He is going to protest, but he realizes that they are standing alone in the galley so close that their shoes are almost touching while the rest of the team is just a few feet away. “Maybe a little.” He knows he should leave and rejoin the others, or at least take a few steps back, but instead he leans towards her a little. He expects her to move away or possibly push him, but instead she seems to be leaning into him too.

“Skye Punch is very strong,” he says.

“Mmmm.”

Their faces are so close now that their noses are almost touching. He imagines that he can feel the warmth radiating from her skin. For a moment he thinks he might drown in the tension, but then they both pull away.

“We should check on the others,” Coulson says. “Fitz-Simmons look like they had too much to drink. We don’t want anyone doing something tonight they might regret in the morning.”

May gives him a look but follows him out of the galley without a word.

  
3.

May finds Coulson leaning against the doorway, watching the younger agents playing poker.

“You didn’t want to join them?” she asks.

He shakes his head. “They’ll have more fun if I’m not there.”

“You’re probably right.” Skye might be comfortable enough with Coulson to hug him and call him A.C., but the others think of him as their boss. They might like and respect him, but they are not exactly ready to pal around with him.

“Are you going to play?”

“I’m fine here.”

They stand in comfortable silence for a moment, watching the others laugh and argue. Skye throws a pretzel at Ward, which he catches easily and eats.

“Hard to believe we were ever that young,” Coulson says.

“Some things haven’t changed,” she says. “You still read those comic books.”

He looks a little embarrassed. “I thought I was able to hide that from the team.”

“From them. But not from me. We’ve known each other too long.”

“Do you ever think about our mission together?” She raises her eyebrow slightly. “About -” He’s not sure how to say it. “About how things would have turned out if it hadn’t been cut short?” She is still giving him an inscrutable look. He clears his throat awkwardly. “There was a lot of tension those last few weeks…”

She does not say anything, but she gives him a little half-smile.

“I’m not sure I would have been able to wait another three months,” he confesses.

“I know. I was counting on that.”

“Hey guys!” Coulson and May are leaning towards each other a little, but they snap apart when they hear Skye’s voice. “Do you want to play? Fitz made plenty of popcorn.”

“No thanks,” Coulson says. He looks over at May.

“I’ll play,” May says. She joins the rest of the team without a backwards glance at Coulson, and he wonders what just happened.

  
4.

She finds him working in his office. When he sees her lock the door behind her, he raises his eyebrows. He does not say anything; he wants her to be the one to break the silence between them. As she moves towards him something in the way she is looking at him makes him smile. She walks behind his desk and swivels his chair so that he is facing her. Still she says nothing, just pauses for a moment as if daring him to ask what she is doing. Then she leans down to kiss him.

As they kiss he stands, then lifts her up by her waist and places her on his desk so she is facing him. Her hands busy themselves with unknotting his tie, peeling off his jacket, unbuttoning his shirt. She pulls away, and for a second he wonders if she is having second thoughts, but the little smile she gives him tells him otherwise. She hops off the desk and strips off her clothes, and he takes the opportunity to take off his pants and boxers.

He cannot help but ask, “What about the assignment?”

She gives him a withering look, and he wonders why he is questioning this. He kisses her again and steers her over to the couch. She gives him a gentle push, and he lies down, pulling her on top of him. He slips his hand between them to touch her, and he feels that she is already wet with arousal. She moves his hand aside and lowers herself onto him. He groans, and she tries to muffle the sound with a kiss.

“Shh,” she breathes against his skin.

She rolls her hips against his, hard and fast, and he finds it easy enough to fall into the familiar rhythm. The only sound in the room is that of their bodies coming together. Even her breathing is remarkably calm, and he tries to keep his the same. The last thing they need is one of their teammates overhearing them.

He slides one hand between them and positions it so that with every thrust her clit brushes against his fingers. He can tell by the way she squeezes her eyes shut that she enjoys that. Her breath starts to come more rapidly, and it does not take long before she comes with a little gasp. She opens her eyes and gives him a little smile, rolling her hips in the way she knows he likes, the way she knows will get him off in only a few quick thrusts. After he comes he wraps his arms around her, enjoying the feel of her on top of him.

“I should go.” She detaches herself from his embrace and pulls on her clothes again, all business. “Do you have a lot of work left?”

He looks mournfully at his desk where he has a pile of reports still to review. “Yes.”

“Too bad.” She turns and leaves his office.

He wonders what this means, but he does not know how to ask.

  
5.

Her bunk is so narrow that when they finish she remains on top of him, unsure how to rearrange them.

“Do you want me to move?” she asks.

She weighs almost nothing on top of him, but they’re both a little sweaty and sticky from sex. “No, you’re fine.”

“Here.” She props herself up on one elbow and uses the other arm to guide him to turn onto his side, his back pressed against the wall. She lies down also on her side, so that she is facing him. “That’s better.”

He does not want to do anything to ruin the moment, but he cannot hold back his thoughts any longer. “Melinda, I think we need to talk. It’s been fun these past few weeks, but I need to know what this is between us. Is it just sex, like we had before? Because that was fun, but I don’t know if I can have that kind of relationship again. I - you and I -”

She interrupts him with a kiss. “I know. I feel the same way.”

He smiles and wraps his arms around her.

“So what now?” May asks.

“Well it will be easier to see each other than last time,” he says. “We’ll just have to be discrete.”


End file.
